"I have long been fascinated by Greenland kayaking techniques that explore that nebulous gray zone between a fully upright and a fully capsized position. John Heath has done much to promote and popularize several Greenland paddling techniques that hold the paddler in a stable position with his torso immersed and his face just above the surface of the water. These techniques include the balance brace, chest-scull, side-scull and back-scull maneuvers (see "Three Braces from Gronland," SK, Fall '86). Today, these skills are widely known and practiced among many North American Greenland-style paddlers. Sea Kayaker Editor Christopher Cunningham hinted to another of these interesting techniques when he recounted the story of Greenlander Peter Petrussen of Kangaamiut (1894-1970), a young kayaker who had not yet learned to roll (see "Greenland-style tuiliqs," SK, Oct. '99). He capsized while on a solo outing yet lived to tell the tale. Petrussen credited the saving of his life to the sealskin kayak jacket, or tuilik, sewn by his mother. While shorter length garments were fashionable at the time, Petrussen's mother had wisely made his tuilik long enough so that it hung to his knees, in the traditional style. Since the sealskin of a tuilik does not stretch, mobility is gained by having a loose, generous fit. After young Petrussen capsized, the length of this tuilik allowed him to push himself slightly away from his seat, twist his body around the capsized kayak, and then raise his head above the water to cry out for help. Some kayak hunters who were in the area heard his cries, and Petrussen was saved. This technique is actually quite ancient, and was described along with a variety of Greenlandic rolling methods in "History of Greenland", by David Crantz, in 1767. Crantz writes: "If [the Greenlanders] overturn and lose all means of helping themselves, they are wont to creep out of the kayak while under water, put up their head and call to any one that is near to help them"." - Mathew A. Koeneker from Bookmarklet